Gary Gifford wrote on Sat, Apr 2, 2005 05:52 PM UTC:
Tony Quintanilla suggested that I add the following from my e-mail to him
earlier this week. It consists of rule enhancements that Carlos Carlos
and I came up with during our game which is in progress as I wite this.
Aa acknowledegment here to CarlosCarlos for his suggestions regarding
enhancing Bario rules.
(1) The Barios for White and Black need to be different. I suggest White
and Blue Cresents as they are part of the piece set in use and the board
looks quite nice when they are implemented. The reason they can't be the
same (like identical color disks) is that when cycle #2 starts all
non-pawn and non-King pieces revert back to Barios. And when a future
cycle happens Barios will nolonger be neatly placed in a player's back
row. A white Bario on d5 could be next to a Black Bario on e5... gray
disks just won't work. So we need to see who has the 'White' Barios and
who has the 'Black Barios' when the cycles begin.
(2) There needs to be a holding zone (for captured pieces and Barios).
This allows captured Barios to sit and await their identity to be revieled
and prevents them from re-entering the game in future Bario cycles.
CAPTURED PIECES DO NOT RETURN (EXCEPT THROUGH PAWN PROMOTION, SEE RULE 8).
Thus, for example, if Black captured White's Queen we would see that
Queen in the holding area and when cycle 2 or 3 started an
'on-the-board' Bario could not become a White Queen. (Note: see rule 8
regarding pawn promotion).
The Chessgi Pre-set board will work for the purpose have having capture
zones.
(3) A captured Bario need not be identified at the time of capture. But
can be later identified while in the holding zone. Thus, assuming white
has only 2 Barios left and that all pieces in the capture zone are known,
and assuming that white's Barios must be a Bishop and a Knight by process
of elimination (but we don't know which will be which). Assume that Black
now captures one of these Barios. It goes into the zone as an
'unidentified' Bario. The remaining White 'on-board' Bario still has
the potential to be a Knight or a Bishop. As soon as it moves its
identity is revealed, as is the identity of the captured Bario in the
zone.
(4) Castling is as in Fischer Random Chess.
(5) You may elect to have both starting Bishops on same color squares.
(6) If one Bishop is captured, then during a new Bario Cycle start the
remaining 'on-board Bishop is allowed to become a Bishop on a different
color square. For example. If white had a Bishop on g1 and a rook on h1,
after these became Barios he could move the h1 Bario to g2 and identify it
as a Bishop. In the previous cycle he had a dark squared Bishop, in this
cycle he has a light-squared Bishop.
(7) Regarding 'Bario checks while on the move' at the beginning of a
cycle: Three logical options quickly come to mind. I prefer option A
first, then B, I don't care for C.
Introduction to the situation: When a new cycle begins the player on the
move may have a Bario which could now be identified such that it can
capture the opponent's King. For example, Black King at g8, White Queen
at f6; pieces revert to Barios, White plays f6-g8 (he made his f6 Bario a
Knight). Thus, in traditional chess we would have an illegal position at
the beginning of the Bario Cycle, i.e., Black in check with White to move.
Three reasonable options are:
[OPTION A] The player in check is checkmated because he can't move out of
check, block it, or capture the checking piece as it is not his move. In
essence, the player on the move could capture the King. {I like this
best}
[OPTION B] the player on the move identifies the Bario and announces
'Check' but does not move (the Bario check counts as the move in this
case); the player in check is now allowed to move out of Check or capture
or block the offending Bario. (Seems like a good alternative to rule A)
[OPTION C] The position is declared illegal (as if the one player moved
into check) and the player in check must make another move. But what if
that was the only move that he could make? Stalemate? Option C seems to be
the most problematic of the 3. It could require a positional take-back. (I
Don't care for rule C).
(8) Pawn promotion: The Bario page states the use of only 1 chess set and
furthermore states you can only have one Queen, 2 rooks, etc. But what
about pawn promotion? I suggest that a pawn can promote to any friendly
captured piece (as in Freeling's Grand Chess.) Promotion could even be to
a Bario (in its unidentified state) if you had a Bario(unidentified) in the
Zone.
**** A note in closing ****
I think these rule enhancements will enable players to enjoy Bario with
minimal confusion. Until a time when rule 7 is standard (as to A, B, or
C), players should agree on one of the options at the start of the game.
I strongly prefer option A.
Best regards to all. Gary K. Gifford
Tony Quintanilla suggested that I add the following from my e-mail to him earlier this week. It consists of rule enhancements that Carlos Carlos and I came up with during our game which is in progress as I wite this. Aa acknowledegment here to CarlosCarlos for his suggestions regarding enhancing Bario rules. (1) The Barios for White and Black need to be different. I suggest White and Blue Cresents as they are part of the piece set in use and the board looks quite nice when they are implemented. The reason they can't be the same (like identical color disks) is that when cycle #2 starts all non-pawn and non-King pieces revert back to Barios. And when a future cycle happens Barios will nolonger be neatly placed in a player's back row. A white Bario on d5 could be next to a Black Bario on e5... gray disks just won't work. So we need to see who has the 'White' Barios and who has the 'Black Barios' when the cycles begin. (2) There needs to be a holding zone (for captured pieces and Barios). This allows captured Barios to sit and await their identity to be revieled and prevents them from re-entering the game in future Bario cycles. CAPTURED PIECES DO NOT RETURN (EXCEPT THROUGH PAWN PROMOTION, SEE RULE 8). Thus, for example, if Black captured White's Queen we would see that Queen in the holding area and when cycle 2 or 3 started an 'on-the-board' Bario could not become a White Queen. (Note: see rule 8 regarding pawn promotion). The Chessgi Pre-set board will work for the purpose have having capture zones. (3) A captured Bario need not be identified at the time of capture. But can be later identified while in the holding zone. Thus, assuming white has only 2 Barios left and that all pieces in the capture zone are known, and assuming that white's Barios must be a Bishop and a Knight by process of elimination (but we don't know which will be which). Assume that Black now captures one of these Barios. It goes into the zone as an 'unidentified' Bario. The remaining White 'on-board' Bario still has the potential to be a Knight or a Bishop. As soon as it moves its identity is revealed, as is the identity of the captured Bario in the zone. (4) Castling is as in Fischer Random Chess. (5) You may elect to have both starting Bishops on same color squares. (6) If one Bishop is captured, then during a new Bario Cycle start the remaining 'on-board Bishop is allowed to become a Bishop on a different color square. For example. If white had a Bishop on g1 and a rook on h1, after these became Barios he could move the h1 Bario to g2 and identify it as a Bishop. In the previous cycle he had a dark squared Bishop, in this cycle he has a light-squared Bishop. (7) Regarding 'Bario checks while on the move' at the beginning of a cycle: Three logical options quickly come to mind. I prefer option A first, then B, I don't care for C. Introduction to the situation: When a new cycle begins the player on the move may have a Bario which could now be identified such that it can capture the opponent's King. For example, Black King at g8, White Queen at f6; pieces revert to Barios, White plays f6-g8 (he made his f6 Bario a Knight). Thus, in traditional chess we would have an illegal position at the beginning of the Bario Cycle, i.e., Black in check with White to move. Three reasonable options are: [OPTION A] The player in check is checkmated because he can't move out of check, block it, or capture the checking piece as it is not his move. In essence, the player on the move could capture the King. {I like this best} [OPTION B] the player on the move identifies the Bario and announces 'Check' but does not move (the Bario check counts as the move in this case); the player in check is now allowed to move out of Check or capture or block the offending Bario. (Seems like a good alternative to rule A) [OPTION C] The position is declared illegal (as if the one player moved into check) and the player in check must make another move. But what if that was the only move that he could make? Stalemate? Option C seems to be the most problematic of the 3. It could require a positional take-back. (I Don't care for rule C). (8) Pawn promotion: The Bario page states the use of only 1 chess set and furthermore states you can only have one Queen, 2 rooks, etc. But what about pawn promotion? I suggest that a pawn can promote to any friendly captured piece (as in Freeling's Grand Chess.) Promotion could even be to a Bario (in its unidentified state) if you had a Bario(unidentified) in the Zone. **** A note in closing **** I think these rule enhancements will enable players to enjoy Bario with minimal confusion. Until a time when rule 7 is standard (as to A, B, or C), players should agree on one of the options at the start of the game. I strongly prefer option A. Best regards to all. Gary K. Gifford